Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.2018

From refugee daughter of a Tamil revolutionary and aspiring filmmaker to pop stardom and controversy magnet: this stimulating documentary about Sri Lankan musician M.I.A. dances to its own idiosyncratic beat.

Share This Film

Director

Producers

Photography

Editors

Marina Katz, Gabriel Rhodes

Music

Dhani Harrison, Paul Hicks

Festivals

Sundance, Berlin, New Directors/New Films 2018

Awards

Special Jury Award, Sundance Film Festival 2018

PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH

An unconventional biography of a defiantly unconventional pop star, this documentary delivers a rousing and multifaceted portrait of Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. Better known to friends and family as Maya, M.I.A.’s exceptional path from stardom – propelled by her Slumdog Millionaire megahit ‘Paper Planes’ – to media pariah is charted by first-time documentarian Steve Loveridge, who attended art school with her in the 1990s. — MM

“Loveridge’s movie is a fantastic and kinetic fulfillment of Maya Arulpragasam’s desire to be heard as more than an entertainer. Starting with her 2004 debut, M.I.A. beat an aesthetically game-changing and controversy-strewn path across pop culture, broadcasting her backstory as a Tamil revolutionary’s refugee daughter who was trained in a London art school and steeped in US hip-hop. Her early aspiration of becoming a documentary filmmaker means Loveridge has a trove of electrifying pre- and post-fame footage to work with, which he uses for a smart, lively investigation of M.I.A.’s own vital themes: the lives of immigrants worldwide, the plight of the Sri Lankan people, and the question of whether pop stars can make effective political activists.” — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic

Rapper, piano virtuoso, performance artist, gifted collaborator or evil, smirking genius, Jason Beck aka Chilly Gonzales crowd-surfs the academy and puts on a hell of a show in the year’s wildest, funniest music doco.

The Oscar-winning Japanese composer (The Last Emperor; Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence), synth-pop pioneer, electronica experimentalist and environmentalist reflects on his work and influences in this intimate portrait.

Bursting with colour, music and boyband adoration, Jessica Leski’s documentary is a celebration of women coming of age and navigating adulthood through the music and romantic appeal of their beloved boybands.